He was arrested in April at Baumgardner’s house for failing to register as a sex offender.

Baumgardner says Frierson approached him a year and a half ago, and he wanted to provide a second chance by giving him work.

The lawmaker voted against a bill in 2011 that rewrote sex-offender registration requirements that some deemed impossible to follow. He initially voted for the bill but said he couldn’t support the Senate’s changes.